Brannyn

Part of the castle wall broke off and sent rubble flying off to the side, crushing demons and men alike. Some mages focused their efforts on stopping the debris in midair, saving a few soldiers. However the mages numbers dwindled at this point in the siege, and not all could be saved. Blood cascaded around Brannyn, a singular figure in the clash of armies, as he wielded dual blades that sent monsters to their graves. Cursing, he stopped to watch the archers atop the wall plummet to the ground, bodies charred from apparent fire magic. Men fought around him against the demons streaming out of the hellgate that had appeared in front of the castle. The onslaught seemed endless, monsters still walked through the portal, and for each fiend that was brought down, at least 3 humans fell. It couldn’t go on like this.

Brannyn slew another demon and wiped blood from his forehead. He looked past the armies and saw a general upon a horse being surrounded by the enemy. Brannyn charged through the fight, and idea forming in his head. He held his twin blades behind him as he ran through the ranks of men and demons, slashing any fiends who drew too close. The battle was terribly glorious. Man and monster alike fell before steel and claws. Blood flew freely, but this excited Brannyn. He felt the thrill of battle filling up his body, his heart thumping in his chest.

Brannyn came upon the fallen general, his body being trampled on by the monsters from hell. Brannyn yelled a war cry and charged the enemy, his blades flashing before him in a flurry of steel. He swept low with his off hand, sending a demon to one knee. Spinning back around he brought his main hand down, cleaving the monster’s head off. Each attack was careful and precise, his skills honed from years in the Hoarfrost. His swords flowed around him, and bodies dropped onto the ground before him. Dispatching of the demons around him, Brannyn sheathed his off hand sword and leapt into the saddle, bringing in the reins. The horse reared and Brannyn smiled. He guided the general’s horse towards the hellgate, charging past the carnage that filled the fields around the castle.

Drawing near the hellgate, Brannyn could see that enemy mages channeled their energy together to keep the massive portal open. By now the enemy ranks had formed up to block Brannyn’s path to gates. He cursed, and shifted the horse’s reins to the side to find another way, but the horse would not listen. The general’s horse charged towards the wall of demons that had formed before him, and leapt at full speed over the nether monsters. The horse cleared all of the fiends and kept charging towards the mages, which Brannyn could now count out to be 3.

Steel flashed as Brannyn swept low with his sword, severing the neck of a demon, blood spurting from the wound and across Brannyn and the silvery horse’s hide. Brannyn had just ran down his second mage when he heard a crack, and went down onto the ground, hitting hard against the hardened mud mixed with entrails. Brannyn looked back at the horse, which had broken a leg, and gave a silent prayer of gratitude. He stumbled to his feet and grasped his two swords firm, and then charged back into the fray of nether beings. Monsters came at him from the left and right, which he either dodged or cut down on his path to the last remaining mage. Nearing the mage Brannyn slipped on a patch of bloodied mud, giving time for a demon to bring down his claw, slicing Brannyn’s arm off at the elbow.

Brannyn screamed, and twisted to the side to bring down his main hand and slice the demon’s head off. Snarling, he ducked underneath another demon’s swing, and charged to the final mage, slashing open the monster’s guts. The portal shuddered, and collapsed in on itself, the magical energy being released in a wave of force that sent demons flying back from the source. Brannyn dropped his blade and sunk to his knees, resigned to his fate as the monsters ambled towards him. Closing his eyes, he could almost hear the thundering voice of his father in the afterlife. Brannyn opened his eyes in surprise as allied cavalry charged through the ranks of demons, surrounding him as they fought off the horde of fiends. Brannyn was hauled into a saddle, and the horse underneath him charged back to the ranks of human soldiers, where they cheered and whooped, faith restored.k